Last Day Of School Party

Friday was Abby and my nephew Matthew's last day of school. My sister and I had all of these plans of going out for ice cream, doing this awesome graduation hat craft project and having a little graduation.

Well, Matthew and Abby had other plans. Both of them woke up with stuffy noses and were crabby! We did make it to Dairy Queen, but Abby whined almost the whole time about not being able to bring in all 2,000 of her My Little Ponies. And Matthew kept saying he was going on a vacation and Abby couldn't come, because she's too whiny. He made up about a dozen rules for being able to go on his vacation. It turns out his vacation is at my house. LOL! Heather and I have no idea what he was talking about.

Baby Andrew did very well!

So, I have no pictures from what was supposed to be our big celebration. My Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard does deserve some credit for keeping me sane during the whining:

I love Reese's PB cups!

What's your favorite blizzard flavor?

Fix It Friday

BEFORE


AFTER


I just played around with the free tools available on Picnik. What do you think of her new hair accessory? :)

Check out www.iheartfaces.com for WAY better after pictures!

Show Us Where You Live Friday: Abby's Room

This week's room is:

Children's Rooms/Nurseries


This is Abby's big girl room. The first thing I did was find a quilt I liked, then we went from there. The quilt is Pottery Barn Kid's Daisy Garden. I used a white eyelet bedskirt from Kmart and plain pink tab top curtains from Target. They are the exact same color as the wall, which is cool. The step stool is from Target and the white headboard was an awesome Craigslist find. It was only $20 and all I had to do was wipe it with a damp cloth and use a Magic Eraser in a few spots!


I had the canvas letters above painted by someone on Ebay. The pictures doen't do them justice. They match the bedding perfectly and are adorable! I used white knobs to hang from the white wood trim we installed around the room to separate the light and dark pinks.


I am still working on this wall. Right now there is just a picture of Abby and her cousin Matthew. I'd like to get some picture collage frames to put above the bookshelf. Speaking of the bookshelf, my Mom and Dad made it. Sure, it took them several years to finish it, but it looks awesome!

Isn't it cute?!


As you can see here, we still need to find a matching lampshade and get rid of the baby rocker. Those pieces are from when her nursery was light purples. The dresser is from Stanley Furniture and is from the Contentment line. We bought it to be used as a changing table and then a dresser. The changing pad fit perfectly on it and the baby stuff sat in baskets on the side:

(from the nursery at our old house)

Now, it sits pretty much empty, as I am on the lookout for a nice desk clock. I wish I would have purchased this one from PB Teen, before it was unavailable.

I just couldn't talk myself into a $49 + shipping clock.

I found the oval mirror above the dresser marked down from $39 to $8 at HomeGoods. It was purple and had a few bare spots. I just sanded it down and painted it white, then hung it by pink ribbon from the trim.

Abby's room is still a work in progress. I am always on the lookout for some accessories. The way we did the trim, makes it kind of hard when hanging items on the wall. Do you put it above, below or on the trim?

Abby's room is the most colorful room in the house, but it's perfect for her. I remember picking out the paint colors and having a mini panic attack about painting colors on the wall! LOL!

I can't wait to check out the other rooms over at Kelly's Korner!

Thanks for visiting!

ABC and 123's Prize Picnic

I am so excited to be participating in ABC and 123's Prize Picnic.

ABC and 123 is an awesome resource for families and homeschoolers. I've been reading it since it first started and have found lots of great ideas! So, if you are visiting from their Mr. Linky party:

Welcome to my blog!

I am Jenny, wife to David for almost 8 years and a stay at home and homeschooling Mom to Abby. She just turned 5 and we are finishing up our first year of homeschooling...Preschool!

I started this blog to document our homeschooling and family adventures. It has been great to keep a record of what we do and be able to look back on Abby's stages of learning.

One of my favorite posts is this interview with Abby. I will have to do this interview again in a few months and see what she says. It's hilarious.

Another favorite is when Abby wrote the letter B for the first time. It is so awesome to watch your child learn and develop skills. I was so happy about that letter B! LOL!

We are really looking forward to homeschooling Abby for kindergarten in the Fall, but for now it's time to enjoy Summer!

Honestly, I'm not a picnic type of gal. As I recently posted here, I am not one for grass and bugs. I do however like picnic food and would love to eat it...INDOORS.

Abby can't wait to go swimming this Summer and she really enjoys going to the park.


We don't have any major Summer plans. We go on our family vacation in September, when most people are back in school.

What Summer plans do you have?

Head over to ABC and 123 for more Summer Prize Picnic posts!

History Museum Field Trip

Tuesday was Dave's birthday and we decided to head out to the Missouri History Museum, because it is free :)

I don't remember ever visiting it before. Of course, history was my least favorite subject in school, so if I did go, I probably blocked it out! LOL!

We had a nice time. It was a bit overwhelming for Abby, but she did enjoy some of the exhibits. The museum is kind of small actually. We saw a St. Louis World's Fair exhibit, a "Seeking St. Louis" exhibit and a Lindbergh exhibit.

I really enjoyed an exhibit about quilts. The one below was made in 1892! (there was no flash photography allowed in the museum, so some of the pics are a little blurry)


It's hard to tell in the photo, but it was gorgeous! The fabrics were luxurious and the stitching was so detailed.

We will definitely take Abby to more Museums. We have an Art Museum, Transportation Museum and even a Dog Museum near us. I'd love to check out the City Museum & Aquarium, but we'd have to take out a small loan for that! $18 a person...eek!

I am beginning to think ahead to Fall and would like to take at least 1 field trip a month. I think that's do-able.

Have you started planning for the Fall school year yet? I really need to get on it!

Wordless Wednesday

Abby's face when she saw the scooter we got for her birthday!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to Go Graham Go, Jolly Mom and
5 Minutes For Mom.

Birthday Party Weekend

Abby's 5th birthday party on Sunday was great!

The theme was Littlest Pet Shop. I found these wall decals for $12 at Kmart and used them as decoration, since I didn't care for the Littlest Pet Shop party supplies. I just used hot pink and turquoise for the party goods. It worked out well.I bought bottles of bubbles, wrapped them in cellophane, tied curly ribbon on top and added a LPS sticker for the favors. They were cute and inexpensive. Plus, who doesn't like bubbles?


It was so fun to see all of the cousins together. The kids are: Matthew (6), Abby (5), Lauryn (4), Jacob (15 months), Madalin (13 months), Hannah (11 months) and Andrew (6 months)



Note: Abby's cake in the first picture is a Dirt Cake. She is allergic to tree nuts and most bakeries do not have anything that is tree nut free. She loves Oreos and requested this cake. It may win the World's Ugliest Birthday Cake Award, but it is yummy! I also made ice cream sandwiches with chocolate chip cookies, those went really fast!

And if one party wasn't enough, we had another party on Monday! My brother-in-law's birthday was May 18th and my husband, Dave's birthday is today, so we celebrated them both on Memorial Day.


That apple pie above was delicious and HUGE! It was from Sam's and there was still half of it left after 7 of us had some. Abby had left over Dirt Cake.

It has sure been a long and busy weekend! Dave took off work Friday for Abby's birthday and he is off today so we can all hang out for his birthday. We are still trying to decide what to do, because of the weather. I'd better get to bed, so I can wake up! LOL!

What did you do this holiday weekend?

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Deal

I just got an email from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine stating that today, May 25 and tomorrow, May 26 they are cutting the price of their subscription from $25 to $15, plus you can get 5 free web books!

Follow these instructions:

1. Put our Pick 5 WeE-book™ product in your cart by clicking here.
2. Place a one-year print subscription in your cart by clicking here.
3. At checkout use coupon code FREEPICK5.

Hurry, the offer ends Tuesday the 26th at Midnight.

Happy Memorial Day

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day!

Our Trip to the Zoo

This has sure been a busy weekend! Abby's birthday was Friday, so we started the day with a few gifts and then headed to the zoo. The weather was beautiful, but the sun was a bit hot at times.

When we returned home, we gave Abby a Radio Flyer Scooter she's been wanting. She was so excited, she thought she wasn't getting anymore gifts.



The St. Louis Zoo is so fun. It's free too! Parking is $11, but we ended up parking along the street, because it was so crowded, which was free.

I highly recommend the new Zoomagination Station. It has so many hands on learning centers. Abby loved it. Plus, they keep it really clean and it's FREE!

We didn't visit the new Stingray exhibit, because it was $3 a person. However, it is free during the first hour the zoo is open, so we may go back. The Children's Zoo is also free from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Summer.

Abby said she had a great birthday!

Saturday was spent cleaning house for her birthday party on Sunday. Check back soon for a birthday party post!

So, do you have a zoo near you? What kinds of neat exhibits does it have?

Random Picture Challenge

This week's challenge at 4 little men and girly twins is:

16th picture folder
28th picture

or

August 2008
28th picture


This picture is from my 16th folder (May 2005). We were celebrating Abby's 1st birthday! That is my cousin Andrea and her boyfriend Rick. They are now married. If you like pictures, you can check out the wedding slide show here.

How funny that this is the folder I opened today. I am currently taking a break from cleaning the house for Abby's 5th birthday party tomorrow!

Don't forget to join in the fun over at 4 little men and girly twins.

Fix It Friday

It's officially Saturday now, but I am up way too late playing on the computer.

So here is my first Fix it Friday contribution:

Before:


After:


I just used the free version of Picnik, but it would have been more fun if I weren't too cheap to upgrade it.

For more Fix It Friday posts, check out www.iheartfaces.com.

One Lovely Blog Awards

Thank you to Barnes of Grace for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award. Go check her out, she's a homeschooling Mom and has lots of giveaways on her blog!

Award Rules:

• Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

• Pass the award to 15 (or whatever number of) other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are some blogs that I have come across recently and enjoy:

• Tidymom

• This Is The Year

• Clover Lane

• Life Of A Diary Queen

• Homebody

• Fruit of the Womb

• Schweri Stories

• Lacey In Love

• Beach Cottage Love

• Princess With A Half Price Tiara

• Centsational Girl

• Many Little Blessings

• A Journey Through Loss

• I'm Living Proof That God Has A Sense Of Humor

Thank you again to Barnes Of Grace for this award!

Hooked On Friday: Happy 5th Birthday Abby!

We will at the Zoo today, but here's a slide show of Abby over the years:



Wow, time sure goes fast. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was at a Scholastic Book Fair and I felt my contractions getting stronger. I had preterm labor at 30 weeks and was on bed rest for about 6 weeks. I was so happy to be off bed rest that we headed to the book fair that weekend. Now, since I had contractions for over 6 weeks, it didn't surprise me that I was having more. The building was not air conditioned and it was May! I realized that I had to keep stopping, because it hurt to walk. I told Dave we'd better go. We knew it was time!

Having taken a doula class in the past, I knew to eat before I got to the hospital. So, we stopped at Quizno's and I even got out of the car to order, because I hate the spices they put on the sandwiches and didn't trust my husband to do the order right! LOL!

We then went through the bank atm to get some cash. I came home and took a shower. (I also knew I wouldn't be getting one of those for awhile) While in the shower, I was worried I wouldn't make it out, but somehow I did. I ate my whole sandwich and lemonade and we headed to the hospital.

We arrived at about 3:00 p.m. and my Mom met us up there. I was having terrible back labor and decided on the epidural at around 6 p.m. Those things are awesome and I highly suggest them :)

Suddenly, it was time to push and Abby arrived at 8:26 p.m. on May 22nd. She was 6 pounds even and 20 1/4 inches long.

The memories it brings back just to type that! WOW!

Happy Birthday, Abby!

Check out Hooked On Houses for more Hooked On Friday posts.

"Mom, There's a Feather Outside!"

That's what I heard the other morning as Abby ran into my room. She was telling me about a huge feather in our backyard and I had to go see it. I put my glasses on and went to check it out.


She wasn't kidding, it is one big feather! We measured it and it's a whopping 11 3/4" in length.

Now the fun part was to identify it. I figured it was a Barred Owl feather, since we always hear lots of them around here. See my owl post here.

After some searching, I came across a Owl Feather Identification page. Abby and I are leaning towards the Great Horned Owl:

Check out how big their wingspan is:

(Flickr image)

If it is the Great Horned Owl that will solve our mystery screeching sound. Dave set up a microphone to catch the sound, but we haven't heard it again.

We may have to make a stop at the World Bird Sanctuary this week, to identify our feather.

Any guesses on what type of feather it is?

**Disclaimer: I didn't handle the feather with bare hands nor let Abby touch it. I picked it up with a paper towel and promptly put it in a ziploc bag after taking the picture**

Wordless Wednesday

We saw this van at the Homeschool Rally in Jefferson City. The sign says:
"CAUTION Unsocialized Homeschoolers On Board".

The stickers seem to show a Mom, Dad, 9 kids, 1 baby and 1 dog. We loved it!

Check out Go Graham Go, 5 Minutes For Mom, and Jolly Mom for more Wordless Wednesday posts.

Getting Ready

I can't believe Abby will be 5 on Friday!

Here's a preview of the theme for Abby's party this weekend:


Awhile back, I won a custom invitation at 3 Little Flowers. I found the Littlest Pet Shop picture and gave Anelys the details. I think she did an awesome job! You can see more of her work on the 3 Little Flowers Blog.

This week we are running errands and cleaning house.

I have a huge list of things I need to get done. But you know how it is, most of them have to wait until the last minute or the house will be a mess again!

Last night I worked on updating the pictures in the frames on the walls. Baby Andrew has officially graced my walls with his gorgeous smile! I always try to update the pictures and update Abby's scrapbook every year, since most of the family only comes to my house once a year.

Today, I'd like to tackle cleaning the windows and skylights. I used a rag rubber banded to a long pole to kill a spider in the skylight the other day and it made a huge smear on the glass part. YUCK! I've decided to lay down plastic, climb a ladder and mop the skylights with Windex. Let's hope it doesn't make thing worse! Does anyone have a better idea?

Abby's preschool year is coming to an end and I'd love to put together a portfolio of some of her work and maybe do some type of evaluation. My plan is to put everything in a binder and make one every year to look back on.

Of course, this project will have to wait until next week, but I'd love to hear how you celebrate the end of a homeshool year and how you keep your documents.

I ♥ Faces: Week 19

This is my first time to join in on the fun over at I ♥ Faces. This week they are looking for your favorite faces to put in their I ♥ Faces photo book. I have always loved the softness in this picture of Abby.

(March, 2005)

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

Join in the fun now at www.iheartfaces.com.

Have You Heard Of This?

Saturday evening we attended a wedding reception for people we don't know. The groom is the step-son to an Uncle we never see. It was nice of them to invite us and it was a peaceful reception until they decided to play kidnap the bride.

What the heck is that about? The groomsmen ran in with Bandana masks on their faces and guns and "took" the bride. You were supposed to then give them money, so the groom could get his bride back. I've heard of it before, but I don't know the people, so it just seemed so stupid and tacky, since everyone there had already spent money on a gift for them. Not to mention it scaring the crud out of Abby! Suddenly, my Mom yells to me:

"Someone just stole your camera!"


What? I had just put my new camera in the case on the table my Mom and Aunt were sitting at. I was heading back to the table after checking out the cake selection.

Apparently, the "kidnappers" decided to take people's stuff for ransom too (even though I didn't see or hear of anything else being taken) That was NOT funny to me! I quickly found one of them and explained someone stole my camera and I wanted it back NOW! He ran outside and came back with it. Oh and he actually had the nerve to hold out a the ransom bag. I don't think so!

Thank goodness I had closed the case all of the way, because it would have fallen out while they snatched it off the table.

Have you heard of this game? Do they steal people's things? Where I'm from, you don't touch people's stuff! Especially a $500 camera!

My Dad thought it was so funny and told me to "chill out, you'll get it back". However, I was seriously ticked. Again, I think not knowing 98% of the people there didn't help either. Who's to say the person who grabbed it wasn't part of the game and was trying to steal it?

Anyway, I am still anxious about that, but here are some photos from the wedding. Obviously, these are before the camera snatching, since as soon as I got it back, we left!



LOL at Abby break dancing at the wedding! I don't know where she got that from.

Random Picture Challenge

This week's random picture challenge from 4 little men & girly twins is:

9th picture folder

or September 2008

18th picture


I chose September 2008.

This picture of Abby was taken at the Disney Outlet store in Branson, MO.

I can't believe our annual trip to Branson is in less than 4 months! Check out the ticker at the bottom of the page :)

Hooked On Fridays: Homeschool Rally

Update: I just read this article that says there were about 2,000 homeschoolers at the rally!

On Wednesday evening, I posted about a rally on the steps of the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City to oppose S.B. 291, which would threaten homeschooling in Missouri and honestly I don't think it would help the public school either!

Read more about S.B. 291 and the related problems here.


Well, as soon as my sister sent me the email, we started trying to figure out a way for us to go to the rally. Jefferson City is over 2 hours away from us and we all wouldn't fit in one car. Luckily, my Mom said she's watch the baby for us to go!

Even though we had some severe storms Wednesday evening and none of us slept very well, we got up Thursday morning, piled into my car and headed out to our first rally.


It was a great experience! The only drawback is that we couldn't hear everything that was being said. I wish they would have had a megaphone. However, just seeing all of the people that came out on such short notice to protect our freedom was awesome!

The kids did really well too. Here they are clapping along with the crowd:



How cute is that? I am so proud of them! Just think about the people in other countries who aren't free and the children that aren't safe. Contrary the beliefs of some government officials, it is an honor to be an American!

It was a long day, but the best part:

S.B. 291 was amended late Thursday evening to protect homeschooler's rights!

Check out Hooked On Houses for more Hooked On Friday fun!

More pics from today:

Abby's Art

I'm Living Proof that God Has a Sense of Humor, Three Bay B Chicks and Domestically Challenged are celebrating art and being creative by hosting:

Here are some of Abby's recent works of art:

Photo composition series
(she took these 2 pictures)

Abby's babies

A happy sandwich for Dad

Crayon

The Easter Bunny

Marker

A picture of Mommy (love that frame!)

Pink Lemonade*

*Abby used RoseArt markers to draw this several months ago and I am so bummed that it faded. It's barely recognizable, but it was a large glass of pink lemonade with yellow straw and a yellow lemon on the edge. I will no longer purchase RoseArt markers!

Go check out more art work at the links above!